Nursing pillow and case system

ABSTRACT

A nursing pillow and case system includes: a main foldable pillow; a removable strap connected to the pillow; vertically aligned handles connected to opposing ends of the pillow; a case consisting of a top and bottom component connected by a mechanical fastener; a foam layer either sown in or placed closed to the top and bottom component of the case; and a horizontally aligned handle connected to the outside of the bottom component of the case.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/103,835, filed on Aug. 28, 2020, in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

Aspects of example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a pillow that converts from an open to a closed configuration.

Aspects of example embodiments of the present disclosure also relate to a case that houses the pillow in its closed configuration.

2. Description of Related Art

Traditional nursing pillows are generally limited to providing support for nursing and bottle feeding. Between feeding sessions, the bulky nursing pillow is unusable and can become a hindrance. When the feeding stage is over, there is no readily-apparent use or continued function for the nursing pillow.

SUMMARY

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a re-configurable nursing pillow (referred to herein a “pillow” for ease of explanation) and case is provided that extends the use and functionality beyond that of a traditional nursing pillow. The pillow can provide support during nursing or bottle-feeding and can also aid with tummy time and independent seating. The nursing pillow has a corresponding case, which extends the pillow's use and longevity by converting the pillow into, for example, a floor cushion that provides seating for small children and adults and a meditation support pillow, as some examples. The case also allows the pillow to be easily transported, protects the pillow from contamination and spills, and is easily wipeable. Thus, between uses as a nursing pillow, the pillow can be closed and placed into its accompanying case for use as throw pillow or floor cushion while also protecting the nursing pillow from spills and the like.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the nursing pillow and case system includes: a main foldable pillow; a removable strap connected to the pillow; vertically aligned handles connected to opposing ends of the pillow; a case consisting of a top and bottom component connected by a mechanical fastener; a foam layer either sown in or placed closed to the top and bottom component of the case; and a horizontally aligned handle connected to the outside of the bottom component of the case.

The pillow may have a U-shape when in an open configuration.

The pillow may include a removable strap, connected to one end of the pillow.

The pillow may have a circular shape after being changed to a closed configuration.

The pillow may include a handle on two opposing sides.

The removable strap may be removed or attached via an attaching mechanism.

The case may include a top component.

The case may include a bottom component which houses the pillow.

The top component and bottom component may be connected via a mechanical fastener.

The case may include a foam layer either sown in or placed closed to the top and bottom component of the case.

The case may include a handle connected to the outside of the bottom component

The width of the case is slightly greater than the width of the pillow it houses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and aspects of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing, in detail, example embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1-4 are views of a pillow in an open configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5-8 are views of the pillow shown in FIGS. 1-4 in a closed configuration;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views of a case for the pillow in an open configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are views of the case shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 in a closed configuration;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the pillow shown in FIGS. 1-5 accommodated in the case in an open configuration as shown in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the pillow shown in FIGS. 1-5 accommodated in the case in a closed configuration as shown in FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which example embodiments of the disclosure are shown. In the drawings, sizes (e.g., lengths, widths, diameters, thicknesses, etc.) of elements may be exaggerated for clarity. Like reference numerals in the figures denote like elements throughout and redundant descriptions thereof may be omitted.

As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Further, the use of “may” when describing embodiments of the present disclosure relates to “one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.”

Spatially relative terms, such as “bottom,” “top” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures and should not be understood as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to limit the example embodiments described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

With reference to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a pillow (e.g., a nursing pillow) 1. The pillow 1 may have a substantially U-shape (e.g., a rounded U-shape) when in an open configuration. The pillow 1 may have a first end 41 and a second end 42 at the ends of the U-shape. The U-shape and its flexible, respective ends may allow users to change its configuration to better fit a user during nursing (e.g., to fit around an adult torso or to cradle a baby).

The pillow 1 may have a thickness of about 5 inches, a width of about 22 inches, and a length of about 17 inches. The pillow 1 may be made of a combination of polyester and organic cotton, as an example. The pillow 1 may be filled with a combination of organic latex and kapok, as an example.

The pillow 1 may have vertically aligned handles 21/22 at opposite sides (e.g., sidewalls in the thickness direction) (see, e.g., FIG. 2). The handles 21/22 may be centered (e.g., centered in the thickness direction) on respective sides of the pillow 1. In some embodiments, the handles 21/22 may extend from a top edge (e.g., a top seam) 61 to a bottom edge (e.g., a bottom seam) 62 of the pillow 1 (see, e.g., FIG. 4). The handles 21/22 may only be attached to the pillow 1 at respective top and bottom ends thereof with the center being disconnected from the pillow 1 so that they may be utilized as hand holds or grab handles by users to easily handle the pillow 1.

A strap 3 may be connected to (e.g., permanently connected, for example, stitched to) the first end 41 of the pillow 1. The strap 3 may have an attachment mechanism 51 on a distal end thereof (see, e.g., FIG. 2). A corresponding attachment mechanism 52 may be on the second end 42 (see, e.g., FIG. 2) for connection to the attachment mechanism 51 on the strap 3. For example, the corresponding attachment mechanisms 51/52 may together be a hook-and-loop fastener. In such an embodiment, when the “hook” is the attachment mechanism 51 on the strap 3, it may naturally attach to the material of the pillow 1 such that the attachment mechanism 52 may be omitted, or a pad of the “loop” material may be stitched onto the end 42 as the attachment mechanism 52 for connection to the “hook” material on the strap 3.

Further, a second attachment mechanism 52 may be provided at an inside of the U-shape on the first end 41 of the pillow 1 to restrain the strap 3 when the pillow 1 is in its open configuration. For example, a nursing child may try to grab the strap 3 if it remains loose when the pillow 1 is in its open configuration. By including the second attachment mechanism 52 at the inner side of the first end 41, the strap 3 may be restrained by the second attachment mechanism 52 to remain out of reach to a nursing child.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the strap 3 may be used to convert the pillow 1 from its open configuration to its closed configuration by a user pushing the first and second ends 41/42 of the pillow 1 together and attaching the strap 3 to the second end 42. The strap 3 may retain the pillow 1 in its closed configuration. To open the pillow 1, a user may simply disconnect (or unhook) the strap 3 from the second end 42. The first and second ends 41/42 of the pillow 1 may naturally spread apart from each other into the open configuration due to tension in the material and/or stuffing in the pillow 1, which also helps retain the pillow 1 in its open configuration.

With reference to FIG. 9, an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a case 7, which has a circular shape (see, e.g., FIG. 12). The case 7 may be made of leather, as an example. The case 7 may include a top component (e.g., a top or a lid) 9 and a bottom component (e.g., a bottom or a base) 10 connected at a back edge 11 thereof. The bottom component 10 may have a hollow space 54 to receive the pillow 1. In some embodiments, a side (e.g., a sidewall) of the bottom component 10 may have internal structure such that the bottom component 10 retains a defined hollow space 54 even when the case 7 is empty (e.g., when the pillow 1 is not accommodated in the hollow space 54). For example, a cardboard insert may be provided in the side of the bottom component 10. In other embodiments, the side of the bottom component 10 may be collapsible when empty for easy storage.

With reference to FIG. 11, the case 7 may include a mechanical fastener, such as a zipper, along an edge between the bottom component 10 and the top component 9. The mechanical fastener may extend along the circumference (e.g., the entire circumference) of the top component 9 and the bottom component 10, except for a portion of the back edge 11 (see, e.g., FIG. 9) at where the top component 9 and the bottom component 10 are connected to each other. The bottom component 10 may have a handle 23 connected at the front thereof. The handle 23 may be centered at the front (see, e.g., FIG. 10). In use, the handle 23 may be utilized as a hand hold or grab handle by a user so that the case 7 (with or without the pillow 1 accommodated therein) may be easily moved and carried.

With reference to FIG. 14, in some embodiments, the case 7 may further include a stiffening layer, such as a foam layer, plastic layer, or cardboard layer, which may be sown into the top component 9 and/or the bottom component 10 of the case 7. In other embodiments of the case 7, the stiffening layer may be one or more additional, separate components that are placed in proximity to the top component 9 and the bottom component 10 of the case 7 (e.g., above and below the pillow 1, respectively). The stiffening layer may improve the usability of the case 7 as a pillow when the pillow 1 is accommodated therein by preventing a soft spot in the case 7 at the open part of the pillow 1 that remains even when the pillow 1 is in its closed configuration.

Referring to FIG. 13, the case 7 is sized to be larger (e.g., slightly larger) than the pillow 1 (e.g., the hollow space 54 may have a larger volume than that of the pillow 1). A user may insert or remove the pillow 1 from the case 7 as desired. In use, the case 7 may be utilized as a housing for the pillow 1, when the pillow is in a closed configuration, to act as a cushion (e.g., a throw pillow, a floor pillow, etc.), thereby protecting the pillow 1 when it is not in use as a nursing pillow (see, e.g., FIG. 11) while providing additional usability of the pillow 1. For example, the stuffing of the pillow 1 may form the stuffing of the case 7, thereby allowing the case 7 to act a secondary pillow when the pillow 1 is accommodated therein.

While the present disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to some example embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the following claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A nursing pillow and case system comprising: a pillow having a U-shape; and a case comprising a bottom and a top opposite to the bottom, the case being configured to accommodate the pillow therein.
 2. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 1, wherein the pillow further comprises a handle connected to one side of the pillow, and wherein the handle is vertically aligned between a top edge and a bottom edge of the pillow.
 3. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 1, wherein the pillow has opposite first and second ends, and wherein the pillow further comprises a strap fixed to the first end of the pillow.
 4. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 3, wherein the strap is removably attachable to the second end of the pillow to change the pillow from the U-shape to a circular shape.
 5. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 4, wherein the pillow further comprises an attaching mechanism, the attaching mechanism comprising a first portion on the strap and a corresponding second portion on the second end of the pillow.
 6. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 5, wherein the attachment mechanism is a hook-and-loop fastener.
 7. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 5, wherein the pillow further comprises an additional second portion on an inner side of the first end.
 8. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 5, wherein the bottom defines a hollow space to accommodate the pillow when the strap is connected to the second portion of the attachment mechanism.
 9. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 8, wherein the case further comprises a stiffening layer sown into the top and/or the bottom.
 10. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 8, further comprising a stiffening layer configured to be placed in proximity to the top and/or the bottom of the case.
 11. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 8, further comprising a mechanical fastener along a circumference of the top and bottom of the case to close the case around the pillow.
 12. The nursing pillow and case system of claim 1, wherein the case further comprises a handle connected to a front side of the bottom, and wherein the handle is parallelly aligned between edges of the top and the bottom. 